Musk defends himself on X, hits ‘bogus’ media reports after anti-semitic furore deepens

SAN FRANCISCO – Mr Elon Musk railed against “bogus” media reports accusing him of anti-semitism, issuing his strongest response yet after endorsing anti-semitic content in a post on X

that provoked outrage and alienated advertisers like Apple

.

The backlash erupted last week after the billionaire Tesla chief and X-owner agreed with a post that said Jewish people hold a “dialectical hatred” of white people.

That message has since

drawn criticism from the White House,

as well as several Tesla investors. Walt Disney was among the big corporate names that have distanced themselves from the platform formerly known as Twitter.

On Nov 19, he tweeted that he wished “only the best for humanity”.

Hedge fund manager Bill Ackman was among those who have leapt to Mr Musk’s defence.

Mr Ackman said in October he would be interested in pursuing a deal with X as part of a new investment vehicle that targets private companies seeking to raise US$1.5 billion (S$2 billion) or more and possibly take them public, according to the Wall Street Journal.

Mr Musk has long drawn fire for promoting hate speech. His latest post prompted criticism from both politicians and some of the world’s biggest companies, who have urged the billionaire to better control content on his platform.

A range of advertisers also halted spending on X after a Media Matters report found that several companies ran ads on the social media platform next to pro-Nazi content.

Several advertising executives privately urged X CEO Linda Yaccarino over the weekend to resign in order to save her reputation, the Financial Times reported, citing unidentified people familiar with the matter.

But she has refused to quit, saying she believes in the company’s mission. BLOOMBERG